By Katrina Grant
As the school year ends and many students look forward to camp, one camp lets children who are going through a tough time in their life be camp-goers for one week.
Camp No Worries, located in Tabernacle, was created for children or siblings of children who have cancer. The camp is through Camp Inawendiwin in Tabernacle and works with the YMCA of Burlington and Camden counties.
Camp No Worries was started by Kasey Massa and her family in 1995. The staff at the camp is all-volunteer and many different organizations donate to it.
“Camp No Worries is a safe enjoyable environment for the kids,” Chris Callanan, Camp No Worries director, said. “This is a just a normal camp environment for them.”
At Camp No Worries, the staff tries to make the experience as normal as possible, not focusing on the cancer that the children are facing, but, rather, trying to be the support that the children need.
“Cancer is such a negative thing, obviously, but at camp we say it is positive because it is what brought us together,” Callanan said.
The unique aspect about the camp is the support that it gives children who are siblings of children with cancer. Many people tend to focus on a child with cancer, not realizing that the sibling is a going through a tough period also.
“One thing about cancer that people tend to forget is the siblings,” Callanan said. “At Camp No Worries everyone is affected by cancer in some way and we are just as supportive of the siblings as the patients.”
So far this year, the camp, which is completely free to attendees, has 92 campers from all over southern New Jersey.
“We try to concentrate on South Jersey and children that are receiving treatment from local hospitals,” Callanan said.
Each year the campers pick a theme for the following year, and this year is Biosphere. The first day of camp is June 26, Earth Day, where they will have a campfire and an introduction to the theme. Monday is Under the Sea Day, and they will have a pirate game show. On Tuesday, they have Desert Day, where they have an archaeological dig. The camp also has a 15-minute memorial on Tuesday.
“That is for campers to recognize someone they are missing at camp,” Callanan said. “Some of the campers might be missing their parents, a pet, or it could be someone they have lost.”
Wednesday is Rainforest Day, and the day the camp will go all out for the theme.
“This is one of our bigger days as far as decorations go,” Callanan said. “We have the Remarkable Rainforest Nature Program with the Philadelphia Zoo and we are going to turn the mess hall into a giant rainforest with an active volcano for our dance that night. During the dance, campers will also have the opportunity to get their faces painted as their favorite rainforest animal.”
Thursday will be Outer Space Day, and the camp will host a Special Survivor Celebration Lunch.
“This is where anyone who has gone through cancer, survivor or supporter, can come and celebrate life,” Callanan said. “We are proud to celebrate life.”
Friday is the last day of camp and is Arctic Day. The camp will also host its closing ceremonies on that day.
“At the closing ceremony we allow each camper, counselor, and staff member to say what camp means to them and why the week was so special,” Callanan said. “We also have a campfire, and the ashes are kept every year. This is our way of keeping the Camp No Worries tradition alive. I think both campers and staff will agree that this really is the best week of the summer.”
For more information about Camp No Worries visit: www.campnoworries.org.
